S’mores Chocolate Mousse

S’mores chocolate mousse combines fluffy mousse with graham crackers and homemade marshmallow cream. Learn how to make homemade chocolate mousse using this tutorial and whip out your kitchen torch for an unbelievable finish to a fun parfait-style dessert.

Fingers crossed you love s’mores and all the delicious flavors the campfire treat brings.

Crackling fire or not, I love serving this nostalgic dessert in many different forms. With desserts like no-bake s’mores cake, s’mores brownie cupcakes, and s’mores chocolate mousse, we can all agree that s’mores-ifying desserts is never going out of style.

National S’mores Day is August 10th, so I’m using this celebration as an excuse to show you how to make real chocolate mousse. We’ll layer the homemade chocolate mousse with graham cracker crumbs and top the whole parfait with homemade marshmallow cream, aka creamy sweet meringue. We’re toasting that marshmallow, too. ♥

If there’s ever been a good excuse to own a kitchen torch, s’mores chocolate mousse is it!

Let’s Make Chocolate Mousse

Have you ever made chocolate mousse before? If not, let me teach you. While the ingredient list is pretty basic, there’s a few steps requiring your attention. Helpful preliminary information: you need 2 cups of heavy cream total. Use some in the beginning, then the rest towards the end.

Whisk: 4 egg yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt together. We’ll use the leftover egg whites in the marshmallow topping.

Stir: Remove pan from heat, then stir in vanilla extract. Pictured on the left below.

Melt: Melt two 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars until completely smooth. It’s best to use real baking chocolate, such as Baker’s or Ghirardelli. Finely chop each bar, then melt in the microwave in 20 second increments until smooth.

Combine: Whisk the melted chocolate and egg yolk mixture.

Whip: Beat the remaining heavy cream into medium peaks.

Fold: Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream.

Whip the heavy cream, pictured below, then fold in the chocolate mixture. This from-scratch chocolate mousse is like a lighter, fluffier, richer tasting chocolate pudding. It’s fantastic plain or you can serve it with whipped cream and fresh berries. The best way to serve it, as you can guess, is with graham crackers and homemade marshmallow. 🙂

Whisk egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar together in a double boiler or heat-proof bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture has thinned out, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract, then whip on high speed for 5-6 minutes until stiff glossy peaks form. Whipping is where the magic happens. The mixture will go from thin liquid to as voluminous as the puffiest cloud in the sky. It’s soft, creamy, sweet, and sticky– all the best parts of marshmallow!

What’s the cream of tartar for? Cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites and helps the meringue hold its stiff peaks. It’s an imperative ingredient.

Assemble the S’mores Chocolate Mousse

The chocolate mousse must chill for at least 3 hours before serving. The chilling stage creates that cold, creamy, mousse-like texture. Therefore, I recommend layering the mousse into custard cups, ramekins, or little jars with the graham cracker crumbs before chilling. Chill in the refrigerator, then make the marshmallow cream and pipe it on top of each layered mousse cup.

I only use my kitchen torch a few times per year, but when I need it, I’m SO thankful I have it. Heck, you can’t make awesome crème brûlée without it! What a difference this tool makes in the flavor and texture of your desserts. Whip it out and toast the marshmallow topping.

Marshmallow Topping

Instructions

Make the mousse: Whisk the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and salt together in a heat-proof bowl. (I use a small glass bowl or liquid measuring cup.) Set aside.

Bring 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. (The remaining heavy cream is used in step 6.) Once simmering, lower the stove’s heat to low.

Temper the egg yolks: Whisking the egg yolk mixture constantly, pour in 1/4 cup of the warm heavy cream. Whisk together until combined. Now, whisking constantly, pour the egg yolk/cream mixture back into the saucepan. Whisking constantly, cook the mixture until smooth and thickened, about 3 minutes or until it registers 160°F on a candy/oil thermometer. (I usually don’t measure the temperature, but you can if desired.)

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside.

Melt chopped chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave: place the chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Melt in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Stir melted chocolate into the egg yolk mixture. Set aside.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the remaining 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) heavy cream on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Medium peaks are between soft/loose peaks and stiff peaks. Pour in the chocolate/egg yolk mixture and using a spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold together. Avoid over-mixing which can deflate the mousse. Makes 4 cups chocolate mousse.

Chill for at least 3 hours and up to 1 day. If chilling longer than 3 hours, cover each with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

Make the marshmallow: Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan filled with two inches of simmering water. Do not let it touch the water. (You can use a double boiler if you have one.) Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thinned out, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the vanilla extract, then using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat on high speed for 5 minutes until stiff glossy peaks form.

Spoon marshmallow cream on top of each chilled mousse cup. If desired, use a large piping tip instead. I used Ateco round piping tip 808. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator, uncovered for 1-2 hours. If desired, toast the marshmallow topping with a kitchen torch just before serving.

Cover and store leftover mousse cups in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.

Notes

Make Ahead Instructions: You can assemble the mousse cups with the graham cracker crumbs up to 1 day in advance. (Step 8.) The graham cracker crumbs may become soggy after that. You can add the marshmallow topping up to 1-2 hours before serving. For best taste and texture, I recommend toasting the marshmallow cream immediately before serving.

Chocolate: For the best looking and tasting mousse, use two 4 ounce “baking chocolate” bars found in the baking aisle. I prefer Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. You need 2 four ounce bars for this recipe, 8 ounces (226g) total. You can use semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate. Do not use chocolate chips, as they contain stabilizers preventing them from melting into the proper consistency.

Love that you posted this right now! Lately our house has been s’mores-crazy with trying everything s’mores from the real thing to your amazing s’mores brownie pie (cannot get enough of that stuff!❤) Definitely trying this one to keep the craze going 😉

AAAAAAH! Love love love love LOVE this new recipe! You know, I was just thinking today about how I haven’t had any s’mores this summer, which was a very depressing reality; and now, I go onto your website and discover these s’mores chocolate mousse cups! Happiness in a cup:) I am definitely going to have to try these before the summer ends! In fact, my best friend is coming to visit this coming week, so it looks like I’ll have the perfect oppertunity! And we recently got a new kitchen torch, which I haven’t yet tried out, so bonus points! And I’m loving all of these national dessert holidays; National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, National S’mores Day…both things worth celebrating. I don’t suppose there’s a National Cinnamon Bun Day? Because if there is…I will most likely perform a jig on my computer desk:D

I cannot wait to try this. National S’mores day happens to be how I came about Sally’s Baking Addiction in the first place. It is also my husband’s and my birthdays. When I realized that our b-days were on such a yummy day, I needed to get a fun cupcake recipe for the occasion. Your recipe for s’mores cupcakes sounded the best that I came across—that was over 5 years ago. I’ve been a fan of your blog and many recipes and cook books ever since.
Here’s to my sweet tooth!

What an awesome dessert to celebrate the last few weeks of summer! Question: Can this be turned into a s’mores chocolate mousse pie? Thinking of using a glass pie dish so you can still see the layer =) and adding some butter to the grahams to make a crust. Would the ratio of any ingredients change?

So excited to make this for national S’mores Day. I have one question though. Could you put the meringue between the layers of the Parfait all the way through and not just on top? Would the meringue hold up in there? Thanks for all your recipes. You are one of the few people I trust for a reliable recipe! I love everything you make.

This is absolutely delicious, but it is so rich, they are just too big (not to mention that according to an online calculator I used, this tallies up at over 600 calories per, 300 is much more reasonable for a dessert). I am a dessert person and have a crazy sweet tooth and half of one was all I could manage in one sitting. The next time I make this I will use 4 oz ball jars and just make more servings. They’d make great little pudding cups to stick into lunches for a few days (I know, I know, use within a day, but mine were still fine after 4 days).

Hi Sally! I was just wondering if this meringue/marshmallow recipe would be enough to cover the sides and top of a three layer 9-inch cake? I’m thinking of making a S’more Cake and would love to use this meringue recipe if possible 🙂 Thanks!

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I’m Sally, a cookbook author, photographer, and blogger. My goal is to give you the confidence and knowledge to cook and bake from scratch while providing quality recipes and plenty of pictures. Grab a cookie, take a seat, and have fun exploring! more about Sally